The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, stated this when the Commission hosted members of the Association of Physically-Challenged Applicants and Workers (APAW) in Abuja on Thursday, October 31, 2019.
APAW is an organisation of men and women from across the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja that seek full inclusion of physically-challenged person in all the recruitment processes and appointment into all government and private offices in Nigeria.
Receiving the association on behalf of the EVC, Mrs. Maryam Bayi, Director, Human Capital and Administration, assured the Commission’s support to APAW in whatever ways possible within the ambit of the laws.
According to her, the Commission is mandated by the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003 as well the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations 2007 to take care of people with special needs in telecom service provisioning, which she said , it has been doing over the years.
“Over the years, we have stuck to these legal provisions. In the NCC employment, for instance, there are people with special needs. So, we don’t discriminate as a Commission on the basis of physical challenge. People with special needs are also represented on the Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF) which the Commission established in line with the law; we provide support to this category of people, who are also our brothers and sisters, as part of our corporate social responsibilities,” Bayi said.
Bayi furthered stated that telecoms companies are also required by the Commission to take very seriously issue of people with special needs, who are their customers by making it easier for them to access telecom services and to be able to access redress mechanisms for any service complaints.
After the Commission’s responses to all the various questions asked, enquiries made and concerns raised by APAW members, Godstime Onyegbulam, APAW President, commended the NCC for paying attention to the concerns of people with special needs in the society.